


Stamp of Approval

by Samuraiter



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:12:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samuraiter/pseuds/Samuraiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy thinks she has everything figured out when it comes to Erza, Gray, and Natsu, but it looks like there is one small detail she still has yet to learn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stamp of Approval

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boywonder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boywonder/gifts).



> This can be placed almost anywhere in the later parts of the timeline, though, as a fan of the manga, I composed it with that particular chronology in mind.

"I put two and two together," Lucy proclaimed, her fists on her hips, "and, by that, I mean I put _three_ together." She ignored the fact that Natsu had started using one hand to try doing the arithmetic. "The three of you joined Fairy Tail as kids, and –" A big smile at her powers of deduction. "– not only have you been members since then, but you've been friends, and, after that –" Natsu had not managed to make the numbers add up, but he persisted. "– _lovers_. It all makes sense now." Gray pursed his lips, as if weighing her guess against the facts, but Erza nodded once, validating her reasoning.

"No reason to keep up the charade, Gray," Erza answered, "so – _Natsu_." Her tone brought her companion back to the reality of the situation. "Thank you. Yes, Lucy. The three of us decided to take the next step –" If she had been anybody else, she might have blushed. "– because love is trust, and the three of us trust each other above all others. There is no shame in that. _But_ –" She narrowed her eyes. "– no one else is aware of this." Then, she grimaced. "In public, at least. Two of the three of us are not the greatest at keeping secrets." At that, she glared at both Gray _and_ Natsu.

Gray said, coughing into his fist to deflect the accusation, "You did a good job, Lucy. You've got us figured out." He smirked, a rather Loke-like expression on him. "Or do you? Who's to say you haven't just played into our plans all this time?" Then, he stroked his chin, as if satisfied at his own intelligence. "What if we set you up to find this out? How about that?" Erza glared at him again, and he dropped his gaze to the floor, adding, his voice soft, "All right, maybe it's _her_ plan, but she needed me and Natsu to pull it off. Give us a little credit, huh? Please?" Credit did not seem to be forthcoming.

Instead, Erza flicked her eyes to the different areas of the room – one of the common rooms at the guild, reserved for her team if she desired it – around her, checking every door, every window, every corner, before stating, "I admit, I arranged for you to discover this, Lucy, but I did not make it easy for you." The smile of satisfaction on _her_ face had a genuine quality to it that Gray had not quite mastered. "You started picking up the clues years ago, but only in recent months did you put them all together, and you being here means that there is one clue left. Do you have any idea what that might be?"

Lucy blinked. One more thing to discover? She thought aloud, screwing up her face as she concentrated, "If I already figured out that the three of you are together, what's left?" The answer illuminated her brain. "Oh! There's one more, isn't there? One who's not here? But –" Not a complete answer, perhaps. "– wouldn't it have to be somebody who had everything else in common with the three of you? Wouldn't it have to be somebody else who grew up here, side by side with you?" Frustration. "There's nobody here who matches that profile. I'd know, by now, if there were, wouldn't I?"

"You _should_ ," Natsu said, managing to fit the words around a particularly large sandwich that he had produced from parts unknown – from a cabinet he had filled before, perhaps – while the others were talking, "because, even if there's nobody who's an exact match, there's one who's pretty darn close. Closer than anybody else at the guild, even." Bits of bread, lettuce, and tomato escaped his mouth, and Erza shot him another glare, but there seemed to be no stopping his train of thought. "Who's been with the three of us the longest _outside_ the three of us? C'mon, Lucy. Think."

And think she did. "Well, that'd leave –" She blinked. "Wait a minute. Me? But I –" Not quite there yet. "I think I'd know if I were –" Major blush, almost enough to light up the room. "– if I were with _any_ of you, let alone _all three_ of you!" Backtracking a step. "Wait another minute. Since I know I haven't been, that means –" She blinked again as a block fell into place and completed the puzzle in her head. "– you – all of you – are telling me you'd like me to – ?" The air around her started to feel extremely heavy, and she had to have a seat on a chair that Gray had thoughtfully pulled out for her.

Erza explained, kneeling in front of Lucy, as if in deference, "I am putting this offer on the table for you, Lucy. If there is anybody here the three of us can trust as much as we trust each other, it is you, and none of us –" She closed her eyes. "– want you to be alone." Her turn to smirk. "Granted, I suppose you are _never_ alone, thanks to the Spirits and everybody else in the guild, but –" When she opened her eyes again, they had a glint to them that Lucy had not seen before. "– there is more than one way of being alone, and I believe you know what I mean. You ... do not have to decide immediately."

All three of the companions had gathered around Lucy, and she looked at each of them in turn. Together, the four of them had fought for each other, sacrificed for each other, done almost everything for each other, and she realized that the only difference that separated her from the three of them was where she came from. She did not have the history that the three of them had together, but they had invited her to share in it, to belong to it, to become a permanent actor in the play of their lives. Tears filled her eyes. All that they had done together helped her realize how precious this opportunity was.

" _Yes_ ," she said, "here, today, _yes_." And all three of them hugged her at once. Not that they had not done so before. They had, multiple times. _This_ hug had a different quality. And it got followed by kisses: Gray on her left cheek, Natsu on her right, and Erza on her lips. She blushed hard enough for a fire-eater like Natsu to feel it, but that did nothing to dampen the sense of warmth and acceptance that surrounded her. Granted, it was going to make everything more complicated, especially once the other guild members found out and the next adventure, but, for the time being, she did not mind.

Several years, many adventures, and one (hilariously) extended family later, she still did not mind it.

 **END**.


End file.
